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Léon Bataille

Hamptons Film Festival Caps 30th Edition By Giving Top Narrative Prize To A24’s ‘Close’
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A24’s Close, which won the Grand Prix in Cannes, has picked up another accolade, capturing the jury prize for top narrative film at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

The 30th edition of the festival, which wraps this weekend, also gave the top documentary honor to Pray for Our Sinners, directed by Sinéad O’Shea.

Director Lukas Dhont’s Close follows the intense friendship between 13-year-old boys Léo and Remi, which suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi’s mother. The film is billed as an exploration of friendship and responsibility. The leading roles in Close are played by newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. Léa Drucker and Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille also star.

“Our team feels incredibly honoured to receive this year’s Hamptons Film Festival Jury Award,” Dhont said. “We want to thank the jury and...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 10/15/2022
  • by Dade Hayes
  • Deadline Film + TV
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Oscars: Belgium Submits Lukas Dhont’s ‘Close’ as Entry
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Click here to read the full article.

Belgian director Lukas Dhont’s Close, which explores the fragile world of childhood bonds in his second feature, has been chosen by Belgium as its contender for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

The drama, starring Eden Dambrine and Gustave De Waele, won the Grand Prix trophy at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was one of the highest profile films in competition. Close sees main characters Léo and Rémi as 13-year-old best friends with a seemingly unbreakable bond that suddenly and tragically breaks apart.

Close is the follow-up for Dhont to Girl, which won the Camera d’Or for best debut feature in Cannes in 2018. That film portrayed a young trans woman who wants to dance on pointe with the other girls. Girl won another three Cannes trophies that year — the Fipresci film critics honor, the Un Certain Regard best performance trophy for lead Victor Polster,...
See full article at The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
  • 9/16/2022
  • by Etan Vlessing
  • The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Belgium Submits Cannes Grand Prix Winner ‘Close’ To International Oscar Race; Watch The Trailer
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Updated with trailer: Belgium has selected Lukas Dhont’s Cannes-winning title Close as its official submission to the International Oscar race this year. It debuted in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix in a tie with Claire Denis’s Stars at Noon.

Close follows the intense friendship between 13-year-old boys Léo and Remi, which suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi’s mother. The film is billed as an exploration of friendship and responsibility. The leading roles in Close are played by newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. Léa Drucker and Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille also star.

Dhont directed from a screenplay he wrote with Angelo Tijssens. Check out the trailer above.

Close was produced by Michiel Dhont and Dirk Impens for Menuet and co-produced by Diaphana, Topkapi Films and Versus Productions.
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 9/16/2022
  • by Zac Ntim
  • Deadline Film + TV
Cannes 2022 Deals: Sideshow and Janus Buy ‘The Eight Mountains’ in Latest Festival Acquisition
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After staging a vastly scaled-down version in 2020, organizers of the Cannes Film Festival brought buzz back to the Croisette last year as the industry dipped its toes into the annual French gathering. As the 75th edition kicked off May 17, many in the business are all-in on the in-person experience and there are plenty of completed films for sale.

Mubi took an early lead in acquisitions, scooping up Léa Mysius’s sophomore film “The Five Devils” and Park Chan-wook’s mystery “Decision to Leave” in recent weeks. Other films arriving with distribution include Brett Morgen’s David Bowie doc “Moonage Daydream,” from Neon. A24 has five films premiering at Cannes, including Alex Garland’s “Men” and Claire Denis’ “The Stars at Noon.”

Still up for grabs are films like “Hunt,” the directorial debut of “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae, and Arnaud Desplechin’s “Brother and Sister.”

Below find a constantly updated...
See full article at Indiewire
  • 7/12/2022
  • by Chris Lindahl
  • Indiewire
Cannes Report Day 10: Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ Makes a Star Out of Austin Butler
Baz Luhrmann in The Great Gatsby (2013)
Baz Luhrmann has left the building. More than Tom Cruise, Kristen Stewart or Tilda Swinton, the biggest star to rock Cannes this year may have been “Elvis” and its breakout lead actor Austin Butler.

“Elvis” was greeted by the Cannes audience with a 12-minute standing ovation following its premiere, and the festivities surrounding it were astonishing. That included a performance from Italian Eurovision winners Måneskin and some drones that performed some gorgeous acrobatic light shows in the night sky.

Butler too could be seen crying thanks to the film’s reception, and the buzz around him has been special, with many talking early Oscar love and that he’s an instant star. “I basically put the rest of my life on pause for two years, and I just absorbed everything I possibly could, and I went down the rabbit hole of obsession,” Butler said during Thursday’s press conference. “That’s the tricky thing,...
See full article at The Wrap
  • 5/26/2022
  • by Brian Welk
  • The Wrap
A24 buys Cannes drama ‘Close’ for North America
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Lukas Dhont’s film screens in competiton at the Cannes festival.

A24 has acquired North American rights to Lukas Dhont’s Close, which gets its world premiere today (May 26) in competition at the Cannes festival.

Directed by Dhont from a screenplay he wrote with Angelo Tijssens, the drama about a friendship between two 13-year-old boys stars newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. Also in the cast are Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker, Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille.

Michiel Dhont and Dirk Impens produced the film for Menuet and Diaphana, and Topkapi Films and Versus Productions were co-producers.
See full article at ScreenDaily
  • 5/26/2022
  • by John Hazelton
  • ScreenDaily
A24 Takes Domestic On Lukas Dhont’s ‘Close’ – Cannes
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A24 has picked up North American rights to Lukas Dhont’s Close.

The movie is making its world premiere tonight in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

Close follows the intense friendship between 13-year-old boys Léo and Remi, which suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie (Émilie Dequenne), Rémi’s mother. Léa Drucker and Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille also star.

Dhont directed from a screenplay he wrote with Angelo Tijssens. Close was produced by Michiel Dhont and Dirk Impens for Menuet and co-produced by Diaphana, Topkapi Films and Versus Productions.

Lukas Dhont’s Cannes Competition Drama ‘Close’ Sells To Mubi For UK/Ire, LatAm, Turkey & India

Dhont’s debut film Girl won the Camera d’Or at Cannes in 2018. The film also won the festival’s Queer Palm, Fipresci Prize and Un Certain...
See full article at Deadline Film + TV
  • 5/26/2022
  • by Anthony D'Alessandro
  • Deadline Film + TV
‘Close’ First Look: Lukas Dhont Returns to Cannes with Intimate Boyhood Drama
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Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont made a splash at Cannes with his first feature, the 2018 transgender ballet drama “Girl.” The film picked up the coveted Camera d’Or award for best debut feature, along with the Queer Palm for best LGBTQ film and a number of other accolades (and controversy). So expectations were inevitably high for his second film, “Close,” which premieres in competition at the festival this week.

The film, which tells the story of two boys developing an intimate childhood friendship, was directed by Dhont from a script he wrote with Angelo Tijssens. It stars Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Emilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker, Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, and Léon Bataille.

The official synopsis for “Close” reads: “The intense friendship between two 13-year-old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Leo approaches Sophie, Remi’s mother. ‘Close’ is a film about friendship and responsibility.
See full article at Indiewire
  • 5/22/2022
  • by Christian Zilko
  • Indiewire
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